I don't paint my nails anymore because drawing ensures that the polish gets contaminated by graphite, which turns any color of the rainbow into a shade I can only call smog. Still, I have done it in the past. Yeah, it's a bit silly, but if looking at your turquoise-and-silver coated nails makes you feel a little better during a rough day, it's not pointless.  At the very least, it's not potentially harmful the way some beauty rituals are; I have no idea how Serena Williams is still alive considering the earrings she's worn on the tennis court. Just wow.

Or at least, I thought that painting your nails was harmless until I learned about 3D nail art, which you can see for yourself if you check out the video located after the jump. The video points out how skilled these nail artists are, and that I agree with wholeheartedly- doing anything on the tiny canvas of a finger nail is tough for obvious reasons, and I know I was pretty bad at it, even as an otherwise competent painter. I have nothing but respect for the people who can do this sort of thing. But really, isn't this just beyond impractical? True, it's not exactly at the level of corsets or bound feet, but I can't imagine why you would want to do something to your fingers that would make typing and/or using a cellphone more difficult- especially in Japan. I think the nation that leads the world in composing their literature on mobile devices would put fine motor coordination at a premium, you know?

Although, after browsing on Kawaii Nails, I have to admit that some of the flatter designs- the ones that aren't meant to extend beyond the nail itself- probably would not effect typing that much, and are in fact quite pretty. It's things like the bulbous Hello Kitty heads you can see above that just seem wrong.

[Via Japan Probe]